Eyes Of A Dove
by Coooool123
Summary: The tale of the Bumpty who lives in the Darklands, and the adventure that brought her there.
1. Chapter 1

It didn't rain often in the Darklands, and on the rare occasion that it did, it was even more uncommon for it to steadily drizzle the way it was now. Either thick, dark clouds conquered the sky, or a full-fledged storm roared in fury. The constant, easy pitter-patter of droplets only happened once or twice a year, among the dozen or so squalls that battered the already barren landscape.

Now, the interesting thing about this calm type of Darkland rainfall was its effect on the land it fell onto. Because of the rivers of lava snaking every which way, there was always a constant hissing noise from the rain hitting the molten liquid below. The lava, being too vast to solidify, simply evaporated nature's teardrops the moment contact was made. Steam would rise, creating a type of mist that usually shrouded the tar-coloured earth. To outsiders it would seem eerie, but it held a strange beauty for the natives. These seldom seen occasions were the only times troop members would be permitted to have a day to themselves, since thunderstorms proved to be a good way to practice braving the elements in the field.

Therefore, the atmosphere inside the castle was a rather lazy one.

A pink Bumpty sighed dully as she looked out into the land that lay before her, safe and dry high up in the castle. Bumptys were extremely rare to find in any place that wasn't filled with ice and snow, and it would be unthinkable that one would willingly take up residence in Darkland, but there she was, staring out the window with an almost unnatural feeling of longing. She rarely got homesick, but it was these cooler days that reminded her of her place of origin, in a small, secluded place known as Shiverville. She was the mayor's granddaughter, and often it was expected that she was going to take over her grandfather's role. However, she was a bookworm at heart, a lover of learning, and once she'd exhausted their village's meagre literature resources, she had decided to voyage in search of a vaster reserve knowledge. Even the traders rarely visited their secluded little home, and when they did, they only brought one or two interesting and good quality volumes, at best.

And so she began to reminisce, her mind drifting into her own personal mist of memories.

 **XXXXXXXX**

Against all common sense and good judgment – things she prided herself in having in great abundance – she had set off for the dangerous world of Darklands, a treacherous journey in itself. The Bumpty knew that the wiser, more sensible course would be to head to the Mushroom Kingdom in order to increase her mental repertoire, and that's where she headed at first. But on her journey, she had learned from many a passerby that the libraries there were limited, lackluster at best. Even two toads she encountered agreed that her time could be better spent elsewhere. It wasn't that the Mushroom Kingdom lacked in knowledge; on the contrary, its libraries claimed to be quite impressive, to which her acquaintances could attest to. But it limited itself simply to knowledge of its own Kingdom and its allies, bias causing them to refuse outside literature from nearly every kingdom it was unfamiliar or at odds with. Caution, to be sure, and she had admired that. But she wouldn't be fully accomplishing her goal if she was forced to ignore so called "banned" books simply because of monarchal prejudice. She didn't care for territorial or romantic squabbles between rulers. No, she wanted fact, trivia, and information. Information free from the shackles of biased thinking, and clearly the Mushroom Kingdom wasn't the cream of the crop. Besides, due to the constant attacks, most of which involved fire in some way, they'd been forced to limit their libraries to merely kingdom history and factual books on agriculture, finance, education, and the like. While still impressively larger than her own personal collection at home, it paled in comparison to the vastness she desired to locate. At most, she would be finished in about a week. That isn't to say she ignored the kingdom entirely; she did stop by to stock up on her rations and examine the wares for herself. Unfortunately, and as expected, her efforts proved fruitless and she left that place early the next day in search of metaphorically greener pastures.

The next place she had thought to go was Beanbean. It wasn't far from the Mushroom Kingdom, and besides the odd jump-roping scenario that was enacted in order to cross the border, the short trip went on fairly uneventfully. But, like the previous Kingdom, it too proved to have a disappointed lack of information, besides the vast novels dedicated to jokes, puns, the kingdom, and a shocking amount of works all centered on Chuckolacola. Given her ability to speedread to a fairly good extent, and the ridiculous lack of pages that the books contained, they took less than a day to read to their completion. Asking around, she learned about some places such as the Woohoo Hooniversity, but she didn't feel that the study of laughter would be very beneficial to her quest. Besides, she liked to learn and ponder at her own pace; otherwise she would've gone to a school a long time ago. There were other places, such as Fawful's old hideout, though due to her timid nature she didn't feel comfortable sneaking into an old villain's home. She'd rather avoid any villains at all, to be perfectly honest, so she left the day after she arrived at the castle, already having exhausted their literary resources.

She did end up staying in the Mushroom Kingdom for a week afterwards, though. Despite the bias, she figured that she might as well read as much as she could before figuring out where she was going to go next. The Bumpty had approached the princess directly to inquire of the library, and a smiling Peach waved her through without even a second thought.

 _Well that was quite kind of her. I didn't even need to be questioned!_

She met a few kind Toads who studied alongside her, answering any questions she had, such as Toadbert and Toadiko, but it still didn't take her very long to finish all she wanted to read.

And, of course, there was also the fact that the castle was attacked by Bowser a day prior to her scheduled departure. He kidnapped the princess, and left the kingdom devastated and full of panic. She realized that this would probably be a regular theme and so decided to head out before things got too out of hand with the townsfolk. Who knows how they would react…

There were a few kingdoms she thought of going to next, such as Dinosaur Land, Jewelry land, and Rogueport, but the two former were even worse off than her own home, according to other travelers, and Rogueport was just too far away, not to mention too risky for someone of her inexperience. She would have liked to meet Professor Frankly, but finally decided that the risks outweighed the rewards and settled on somewhere a bit closer:

Sarasaland.

It seemed perfect. The land was essentially a gutsier Mushroom Kingdom; it was almost never under siege, and she was told it had quite an impressive library. Despite the heat, she thought it would be easy to simply stay inside, away from the overbearing harshness of the sun, and it would only take a few days across the Sparkling Ocean to arrive at the castle in Chai.

So, with determination in her body and food in her backpack, she began the long trek to where the desert met the sea.

It wasn't very difficult at first. The worn path through the Grasslands was pleasant and relaxing, and she chose to stick to Glacier Forest instead of the Dry Dry Desert – an obvious choice, as she was used to the colder climate. Once she got closer to the sea, it would only be a day's journey to the Dry Dry Outpost, a small village that had torn down its walls in the past few years and had expanded into more of a seaport, what with the water being so close by. Though she ran into some Goombas and Koopas, they paid her no mind and she was able to carry on her way.

However, once she began her small journey through the hot sand, things were a much different story. Her feet ached with every step she took. The top of her pink head burned up in the sun. She, in desperation, put an oddly familiar blue flower on her head in order to offer the tiniest bit of protection, though she couldn't remember where she saw it or what she knew about it. It served no purpose, and seemed as though nothing could abate the pounding heat. She used up all her water in an hour alone, and slowly munched on some fruit to keep her distracted from the sweltering agony. She hadn't expected the heat to become so unbearable so quickly, and realized far too late that she had made a huge mistake.

Just two and a half hours into her journey, she collapsed in the sand, a defeated mess.

 _How foolish of me... To think I could survive such desert heat._

Before losing consciousness, she began to see mirages in the sand. A tall palm tree laced with coconuts, and smaller, bare ones beside it. A bright blue oasis with green grass with lemons and limes scattered about. A large brown mass racing towards her.

And then it all faded to black.


	2. Chapter 2

She awoke in a shaded bedroom, on top of simple green sheets. They were soft, and, more importantly, nice and cool.

"Ah, I'm glad to see you're finally awake, yet again. The sand man was worried you were delusional from heat the first time you woke."

The bumpty glanced at the speaker, a small Nomadimouse in a brown cloak and head covering. She blinked in confusion. _No... That's not right. I wasn't awake before now... Unless that dream... wasn't one after all…_

In her so-called dream, she had woken up under the shade of palm trees. There was refreshing water trickling from the edge of her mouth down her face. She had blinked a few times to get her bearings, before glancing over to a beautiful oasis, like the one she had believed to have hallucinated. There was a large stranger in a tattered cloak, back to her, chatting away to himself without a care in the world. She strained to hear what was being said, and she was astonished at the snippets of his commentary. His knowledge seemed to be fairly profound, not unlike hers. His voice wasn't too deep, husky enough to confirm he was indeed a he, but youthful, filled with energy. She was just a chick herself, not even in her teens by human standards; but then, she was a bumpty. Bumptys matured quicker than humans… at least, that's what she assumed he was, considering his size. They were normally fully independent and grown by ten years. Of course, that didn't necessarily qualify them as prepared for the world around her, as this little episode had proven quite well.

And now she was rambling again. Even in her own memories, she chattered on enough to bore herself to sleep at times.

The stranger had gone on and on, so much so that she wasn't sure if he knew she was awake. A feeble 'thank you' had escaped her lips and he jumped, confirming her suspicions. He turned to look at her in surprise, and that's when she fainted once more from the shock.

He was no human.

He was a Koopa.

A dragon-Koopa to be precise; the most rare and dangerous kind. She'd been warned about them from early on, how they were cruel and heartless monsters who wanted nothing more than to devour and destroy. She was so stunned that before she became unconscious once more the only thing that registered about his appearance was a large, four-fanged muzzle, a large white star on his face, and small, inquisitive eyes nearly hidden by three hairs that served as each eyebrow.

And now she was here, lying on a neat bed in a stranger's house, her pack on the floor beside her, with no Koopa to be seen.

"The sand man?"

"Yes, the sand man. He wanders the desert but never gets hot. No one sees his face. He helps those lost and brings them here. He also brings me the nicest of nice things, so he is among the nicest of guys." He dipped his head. "Forgive me. You must be very confused. My name is Moustafa. It is a pleasure to meet you, miss."

She decided to keep to herself for the moment, both about her identity and the not so faceless stranger.

"Thank you, Moustafa. I'm just happy I could get here alive. I'm very... Grateful for the sand man's help... Oh, and yours too, of course!"

"It is no trouble. I will tell him the next time he brings another lost one to my door." He headed over to an old stove made out of clay and used a metal pole with a hook on the end to pull out a teapot from where it hung above a crackling fire.

She had time to glance around as he poured two cups of tea into small clay mugs. The room was large and spacious, with the furniture all pressed up against the beige walls. A large green carpet took up most of the floor space in the center of the room, and no furniture dared come even close to its edges. There was a small wooden table with two matching chairs that rested in front of a window opposite the tiny wooden bed where she sat. On the table sat a wooden bowl with four bright yellow lemons, and underneath the bowl lay a red cloth with a few thin yellow stripes, the edges of the blanket drooping lazily over the sides of the table. There was another square window behind her; both were only about a foot and a half long on each side. Despite the small size, they seemed to let in a substantial amount of light. Beside the clay furnace, there was what appeared to be a clay fridge, some wooden cupboards, a large clay counter underneath them, and a water pump in the far corner with a bucket right beside. Some red and orange garments hung above the pump. At the wall facing the foot of the bed was a large bookshelf, set between two large pots that the tiny mouser could've easily hid inside. The opposite corner had a deep oak couch with a dark blue cushion, a low table with an odd, thin lamp on top of it, some stacked boxes, and a short wooden cabinet with blue and green bottles on top, along with another lamp that was the same as the first.

What unnerved her the most was the fact that there was no door. She looked around frantically for an escape route, which proved fruitless and nearly caused her to spill her tea.

"Please do not be afraid, miss," he reassured her, misinterpreting her fear, "We are safe here. The only way in is above us."

He pointed to a ladder that she hadn't noticed before, resting to the left of the clay stove. Above it was a small, wooden trap door that was nearly invisible, despite the light.

She swore she saw claw marks around the edges.

"After this place became more populous, I realized that to stay safe I couldn't have a door that was so easily accessible. So when the newcomers began to build up, I decided to relocate from my old home to somewhere more hidden and spacious."

It made sense. While she knew little about the mouser she spoke to, she had read much about the Dry Dry Outpost. It used to be a small town not too long ago, until a particular Ratooey named Lumpy discovered oil in the area. Not only did he strike it rich, but he donated much of his resources towards the small outpost because of the kindness from a particular Mouser. After that it became a bustling sea port, as the Ratooey refused to force his employees to trek back through the desert in order to sell the oil, since they would have had to pull the barrels by cart through the deep sand. He paid for all of the expenses, and that's when tourism in the small town really began to take off. It took a bit of time to adjust to, but the oil kept coming, and Lumpy kept giving. So everything managed to develop without too much restraint or conflict.

To this day she still wonders if the Mouser who greeted her when she woke was the same as the one in the tale.

"Thank you, again, Moustafa. I only wish I had something to give..." She reached down into her bag, and, lo and behold, produced a lemon in complete bewilderment. "How did...?"

The mouser's eyes lit up in excitement. "Oh, is that for me?! You give me nicest of nice things?"

With a small shrug and a happy smile, she passed him the lemon. "Of course!"

"You are the nicest of nice misses!" He cheered, dancing around with the lemon as if it were a newborn child. He placed it delicately on top of the other four that were resting on the table, smiling brightly.

"Normally I give information for nice things," he explained, "Is there anything you would like to know?"

"Actually, there is." She took a sip of the delicious tea. "I was wondering if you knew where I could find a boat to Sarasaland."

His smile immediately vanished on hearing her inquiry. "You are not going to the flower kingdom, are you?"

"I am. I intend to study the vast collection of its library and increase my reserves of knowledge."

She expected to hear his approval for her mission. After all, he seemed to be a lover of knowledge himself. Instead he turned his back to her, shaking his head. "I will not tell you that. Do not go, miss. You will not survive."

"W-what-?"

"Knowledge means nothing if you lack in understanding and wisdom. Have you researched your destination at all?"

"Of course!" She immediately prattled on for ten minutes about random trivia she knew.

He finally held up a hand to silence her. "Do you know the climate of the area to which you are departing?"

"Indeed I do. It averages out to be 41 degrees Celsius, or slightly less than 106 degrees Fahrenheit."

"Correct." He seemed a bit impressed. "In order to reach Princess Daisy's castle, one must first cross the Muda Kingdom, a simple task. If you were to traverse on land afterwards, you would first have to arrive at the Birabuto Kingdom. Most ships do not travel to Easton because of the hazardous rocks hidden on the coast. Birabuto is dangerous because of its temperature, and the only safe method past the heat and into the Chai Kingdom is through the air. But this desert heat affects the other kingdoms too. It is hotter inside the buildings there than it is on the outside over here. Even with a cloak like mine, you will not last long. You are a Bumpty, not a Nomadimouse or a Snifit. If you could not last in the Dry Dry Desert, which reaches 37 degrees Celsius typically, and was only 34 at the time you attempted to cross it, you will not last in Sarasaland."

She let that sink in for a few moments. She'd thought she would have been tougher than that, and that the Chai Kingdom would have been cooler, despite its close proximity to Birabuto. It didn't seem like such a good idea anymore.

"Well then... What should I do...? I don't know where else to go..."

"There is a place that you may be able to travel to... The Sand Man speaks fondly of it. It is mostly free from bias, and, because of its ruler, it contains intricate knowledge of all the known kingdoms. It too is much warmer than what you're used to, but the stone castle where you would reside is cooler internally and is able to cater to many different species, including Cooligans."

At first overjoyed at the prospect, the pink Bumpty hopped off of the bed and gathered her pack. But the species Moustafa had mentioned made her pause. They weren't exactly a friendly species, often jetting wherever they felt like, without a care in the world. Add that to the identity of the 'sand man', and...

"Where is this place, Moustafa?"

He didn't turn as he set the ladder in place for them to exit. "Darkland."

It didn't register with her at first. "I'm... I'm sorry. I thought you said Darkland."

"I did." Like it was the most common thing in the world to suggest one's living arrangement was the most dangerous place in existence. The place that had just attacked the Mushroom Kingdom not even three days before.

"B-but... That's madness! I can't possibly journey there!"

"It's your best option, miss." He opened the door and scuttled through, motioning for her to follow. She did, albeit reluctantly. She squinted once she was out in the sunlight, and she immediately felt herself begin to heat up again. She didn't even get a chance to express herself, however, as Moustafa draped her with a white cloak.

"Moustafa..."

"Please refrain from speaking my name once we are in the vicinity of others," he instructed kindly, adjusting the garment so that it fit properly over her squat body, "When in public, I am known by the alias Sheek. And please do not mention me to anyone once you depart. I prefer to remain anonymous."

"Of course, Mous... I mean, Sheek; it's the least I can do. But-"

Moustafa turned away and hopped down some boxes, leaving the Bumpty to scramble after him.

"Sheek, please wait...!" She was gasping for breath when she got to the ground. She glanced around, not able to find him in the dark alleyway. She searched for a few moments, glancing behind boxes and bags. "I can't go to Darkland; it's unthinkable!"

"But..." His voice made her jump, and she turned around to see him at the foot of the boxes she had just climbed down. Genuine confusion was written on the Nomadimouse's face. "How can it be unthinkable when I have already thought of it prior to now?"

"I mean... It's too dangerous for someone like me. The people there... They're not nice guys! They could harm me or trap me, or worse!"

"I understand your concerns. But the sand man has promised me that you will be welcome there if you wish to go."

"The sand man is dangerous!" She blurted. "I saw his face in the desert. He's a Koopa! A Dragon-Koopa! He's probably very dangerous and is just waiting to eat you all and take over your town and he could be planning to turn you all into slaves by luring you into a false sense of security I mean don't you know that he's a Koopa of things and-"

"Oh I know." This shut her up. "Sand man is a very big and strong Koopa. And he knows a lot of things. But he is also just a young hatchling. He is lonely sometimes; no one listens to him, he says. That's why he is a nice guy. He will give me the nicest of nice things if I listen to him. Once or twice my ears did hurt, but I would listen even if there were no nice things that he had to give or say." He stared deep into her eyes. "I want you to find your nicest thing. And sometimes that nicest thing isn't in the nicest of nice places. But if it meant finding your nicest of nice things, wouldn't you at least want to go look and see for yourself in a place not as nice as you'd like?"

She dipped her head, letting that sink in. How much was she willing to sacrifice to attain her goal? The 'sand man' had already saved her once before, when he easily could've eaten her or left her to fry in the desert. She remembered a quote from one of her favourite fictional novels, nodding her head as she did so:

'Maybe you're scary, but it's what's on the inside that counts… you should at least get a second chance.'

She didn't like it, but she should at least hear him out and see what was going to happen on the way there. "You're right... I'm sorry, Sheek. I shouldn't be judging a book by its cover." He smiled at her reassuringly, placing a paw on her shoulder in support of her words. Then they began to head towards the docks, weaving passed the townsfolk and speaking just above a whisper, with the Nomadimouse explaining the plan.

"Sand man wanted to take you to Darkland himself. He said he would have gone in his sky boat, but it is needed here right now. He can't go home until the moustaches pass, he says. But he wants you to go on ahead, taking a sea boat to begin your journey. He promises to meet you in the Rocky Mountains in a few days or so, perhaps a week at most. He's already informed the captain of your arrival, and has paid for your trip."

A sigh of defeat escaped her lips. "Very well. Since he's already gone to such great lengths for me, I suppose it would be extremely rude to refuse..." She nervously tapped her flippers together. "I just hope everything will go well..."

"He has made sure none of the passengers will bother you. In fact, he has already assigned a body guard to protect you."

"O-oh... That's... Really not necessary..."

Moustafa shrugged. "Sand man's choice, not mine."

They walked on in silence through the streets, her mind racing. This seemed more like a prison march than an expedition. She trusted Moustafa, she really did, but for all either of them knew, this 'body guard' was only there to make sure she didn't escape. It was possible that she was unknowingly tossing her freedom away for the life of a slave.

 _Come now... If that was the case, why would he have nursed you back to health?_

 _To gain your trust? To make him seem like the good guy?_

 _Well there's no backing out of it now. Besides, you just said that you shouldn't judge a book by its cover…_

They were at the docks all too soon. He began to lead her to a boat that was at the edge of the port, secluded from the others. It bore no emblem, but its dark atmosphere and shady characters instantly made any curious passerby think twice before approaching. She could feel eyes glaring at her from all sides as they moved towards the boat, and knew her pink colouring and white cloak made her stick out like a sore thumb. She held her bag close to her chest and didn't dare make eye contact.

And then she heard snickers, whisperings, most likely about her presence, and she swore the word 'prisoner' was among the words that she managed to catch.

That was when she dug in her heels and decided to test the resistance.

"Sheek... I've changed my mind. I don't want to go to the Darklands."

He looked up at her with what appeared to be genuinely surprised.

"I thought you did not want to be rude, and that you wanted to find your nicest of nice things."

"I do. But this is pushing the limits. I'm not going to risk my safety and freedom for a few books."

Moustafa regarded her with confusion. There didn't appear to be any underlying malice. "Well, I suppose that if that is what you want, then I cannot stop you. Sand man will be sad, but-"

"Hey!" They glanced up to see a Fire Bro heading their way. She began to shrink under his gaze. He didn't seem very amused.

"You're the Bumpty?" He drawled, clearly bored.

"No. I've decided not to go."

The fire bro barely bat an eye, turning his back to her almost immediately after the words were out of her mouth. "Fine. No skin off my shell."

Well this wasn't how she anticipated for it to go. She figured they would have tried to kidnap her, or at least pressure her into staying. "Wait," Moustafa called, causing the Fire Bro to stop in annoyance. He turned to her, digging into his cape and pulling out a small instrument.

Her small eyes grew wide. She recognized the item in his possession immediately from her studies. In his paw, he held a warp whistle. It was extremely rare, and very few had ever been seen. From the design she could tell it was legitimate, not just a forgery.

"Sand man told me to give this to you," he explained, "If you ever have great fear in Darkland and want to go home, this will let you escape." He pressed the cold metal into her hand. "Please, just give it a chance."

"Th-thank you... I don't know what to say."

"Say if you're staying or going, because the boat's about to leave," called the Fire Bro.

She nodded to the Troop member, and gave the Nomadimouse a quick hug in thanks, voice quiet so that no one else could hear her. "I won't forget your kindness, Moustafa."

"Have a safe journey, miss." He turned to the Fire Bro as she walked up to the ship. "You make sure of that!"

"I will. I wouldn't want to be on HIS bad side."

The ship was wooden, and quite large. It had various Goombas and Koopas scuttling about, most wearing bandanas on their heads or over their faces to protect them from the heat and the sand. The fire bro glanced at his charge when they were on board. "Welcome aboard. My name is Kenji."

"I'm-" The boat's horn drowned her out, and they began to set sail.

"There are two rules," Kenji began. "First, if you jump out of the boat, I'm not coming after you. I'll throw a life preserver, but that's it. Second, don't wake me when I'm asleep unless it's an emergency." He glared down at her. "You do NOT want to see me when I wake up."

"O-ok…"

"You can dump your stuff in the cargo hold if you want, but it's not advisable. Bandits get in there all the time and I wouldn't trust them with a rock." Kenji motioned for her to follow him, their steps causing the floorboards to creak. "Just so you know, this isn't a pleasure cruise. If we're attacked on the way, you're expected to carry your weight. Can you fight?"

"N-not really…"

"Figures… Then just try not to get blasted." He pulled out a map from his shell and traced a finger along a river, presumably the one they'd be on. "After we cross Sparkling Ocean, we'll arrive at Bramball River, which connects to both Shy Guy Falls and Soda Swamp. We're stopping at Veneno Village to pick up some minions, including my brother. Then it's straight to the Rocky Mountains, at the base of Yoshi Falls."

She heard his explanation, but her mind latched on to the one piece of personal information he'd let slip. "You have a brother?"

He seemed to flinch, just for a moment; as though that wasn't something he was supposed to say to her. She wouldn't have been surprised. "…yeah. He's my twin."

She wanted to ask more, but Kenji's tone indicated that he wanted the subject to drop, and she didn't doubt that he'd use more than threats to make sure that would be the case. So she put on a smile and placed a flipper to her heart. "I never thanked you for acting as my bodyguard. I really appreciate your kindness."

Incredulousness filled his expression, and for once he was completely devoid of any attitude. "…you know I didn't have a choice in the matter, correct?"

"True, but your superior isn't here. You could've pawned me off to someone else and he wouldn't have been the wiser." She dipped her head in thanks. "I'm very grateful for your willingness to assist me."

The only reply she received was an eyeroll, a sigh, and a turned shell. She didn't let it bother her, however. She knew that Darklanders could be a little bit… rough around the edges. Regardless, she made it her aim to be kind to everyone she came across in order to avoid making any enemies on her long voyage over the-

She turned on feeling a tug on her bag, coming face to face with a horrified blue bandit holding a small yellow notebook. _Her_ notebook, to be precise.

A raised eyebrow made him shrink under her gaze. "Can I help you?"

"I… um…"

Kenji was at her side in an instant. "Buzz off, shrimp. She's under _HIS_ charge and he'll torch ya if you even think about taking something from her!"

"I-I wasn't!" The bandit was insistent, passing the book to her as he glared up at the Fire Bro. Or at least… it was probably supposed to be a glare. He looked more like he was about to pass out. "Something had fallen out of a hole in her bag and I was trying to put it back!"

"Yeah, right. A likely story."

While the two of them bickered back and forth, the Bumpty pulled her bag off and examined its contents, placing her notebook inside as she did so. Everything was in place, with a small memento from Shiverville placed at the top. Looking underneath the bag, she saw that, yes, there _was_ a hole in her bag. And from the sand that surrounded it, she could tell that it had happened back in the desert town. Plus, it was too sloppy and rough of a tear to have been cut by hand.

"Kenji, he's telling the truth." She showed him the evidence, but the Fire Bro still didn't look convinced.

"Still doesn't explain why he was so panicked when you caught him. OR why he didn't just give it to you directly."

"Well, a Bandit's reputation doesn't abate suspicion if he were to give it back at face value…"

"Hm. I guess I see your point." A faint smirk danced at his lips. "Plus, ol' Corey here isn't exactly the bravest of the bunch. He's stealthy, sure, but he's too much of a coward to be a _real_ bandit. And if you felt the tug on your bag, then he's definitely nothing to worry about."

The aforementioned enemy looked away, embarrassed.

"Corey… It's very nice to meet you!" She held out her hand after introducing herself, which the Bandit shook ever so gently.

"O-oh… V-very nice to meet you, as well!" His smile was shy and nervous, but happy all the same. He didn't seem intimidating in the slightest. "I-I'm sorry for the trouble…"

"Please, don't worry about it! If it wasn't for you, I could've lost something very important!" She smiled brightly. "You've proven that I can trust you, and I'm more than willing to be you're friend."

"R-REALLY?" Corey's voice came out as a squeak of excitement. He quickly cleared his throat and dipped his head. "I… I'm very thankful! B-but I hope you don't mind that I need to go now! L-lots to do!"

"Of course! Please, come talk anytime you can!"

Her new friend practically skipped off.

"That wasn't very bright, Pinky."

"I'm sorry… He just looked like he needed a friend."

"You can't be friends with a bandit. Heck, you can't be friends with _anyone_ in Darkland." Kenji tossed a fireball into the water as if to prove his point. "We're mean. _Dangerous_. If you want to go somewhere as bad as Darkland, then you can't be an idiot. You can't trust anyone you meet."

"I trust you, don't I?"

He didn't bother to answer that. If anything, he probably considered that to be a loss on her part.

A large yawn signified her fatigue, and Kenji turned to lead her below deck. "You'd better get some sleep. It's going to be a long trip and there won't be much else to do for a while."

"That's a good suggestion, thank you." Kenji lead her to a long hallway filled with dozens of thin doorways, and opened one without a name on the front. Her cabin was the size of a closet, equipped with only a tiny mattress, a pillow, and a blanket. Hers also had a porthole, which rendered the room even smaller, but at least allowed some light to filter through. There was a lock on the door that the Fire Bro insisted she make use of. She didn't dare argue.

"Goodnight, Kenji." She called from inside her tiny wooden room.

There was no response.

Since there was a bit of sunlight remaining, she decided to do a bit of reading with the books she brought. It was so hard to come across good books lately. She wasn't a big fan of fiction, and the two she's read were dull and unimaginative, at best. But there was one exception to this: Matthew K Jenora, a freelance author who wrote everything from biographies to history to fiction of actual good quality; his only flaw was that he did seem to ramble on quite a bit at times, but who was she to complain? She had the same issue, after all. He was by far her favourite author, and the only novelist she consistently looked for time and again. He was the one that had written the quote she had remembered earlier. She would have loved to meet him. The only thing was… no one knew what he looked like.

She indulged herself in her novel until she could no longer make out the words on the page. She made sure to leave a pencil inside of the book to mark her place before returning it to her bag.

 _Today has been such a long day… my adventure has taken me to the last place I'd ever thought I'd be going… What would my grandfather say if he knew what I was doing? Perhaps I should write a letter to him… Kenji_ did _say that we'd be stopping in at another town. It'll give me something to do tomorrow… Maybe I can use that 'keepsake' I got from Beanbean in case I run out of paper for letters. I'm glad I met Corey, despite what Kenji might think about him… Moustafa was so kind to me… Kenji has been sweet as well! I wonder if there's something I could do for him? If we're going to be living in the same castle, it shouldn't be too hard to repay him… at least I'll have the time to do so… I wonder if Princess Peach will be rescued by the time I arrive? I wonder if she'll expect me to save her… or insist that I go back with them! If I'd known that I'd be going to Darkland anyway, I would've just snuck onto Bowser's airship… Heh… I'd never have the courage to do that! I should get some sleep, though. I'm very tired._

As she lay down, the brush of a petal reminded her of her new accessory. She reached up to remove the flower from her head with a quick tug.

But it didn't move.

 _That's odd… why won't it-_

A sudden memory of a small botanical encyclopedia popped into her head.

 _Desert Brain Bluebells_

 _A rare, bright royal blue flower that blooms only in very hot locations. Normally, they wilt on being removed, but if placed as a hair accessory, the roots connect with the brain and feed the flower instead. If removed, the parasite can secrete a damaging enzyme into the brain through the roots that can severely damage the host. If left alone, the parasite is very harmless and can actually assist in greater brain functions during sunny weather, depending on where the roots are implanted._

 _Great. Well, might as well deal with that in the morning… so long as it won't hurt me._

With a nervous feeling in her stomach, she went to sleep, hoping that the words she remembered were true.


	3. Chapter 3

The trip went on uneventfully. Most of the other minions were either too busy or too suspicious of her to talk. When she wasn't reading in her little cubbyhole bedroom, she spent the majority of the time on the deck with Corey and Kenji, learning much about the bandit but little about the Fire Bro. She didn't really mind, of course; it was simply nice to have some company after travelling alone for so long.

It turned out that Corey was the son of a very skilled bandit who had never been a part of the Koopa Troop, instead leading his own small group on the edge of Darklands. Corey had always dreamed of being part of the Koopa Troop, and was accepted into its ranks at a very early age, thus netting him the achievement of being one of the youngest members in the entire Troop. He was even a bit younger than her, in fact. Apparently, despite his species, he was very trustworthy amongst those that knew him, though not very popular amongst the other bandits. He also said he didn't have any friends, which netted him a big, encouraging hug, and a promise that she would be his friend, no matter what.

His mask couldn't get much redder after that.

Eventually, they reached Soda Swamp and Veneno Village, where a small group of minions were waiting. The ominous purple liquid splashing below did nothing to ease the Bumpty's nerves as the boat docked and began to load up Bowser's minions – a few nursing various injuries, and one or two leaning on friends who were helping them board. Poison Bubbles jumped out of the 'death water' every so often, too far downstream to splash the passengers but close enough to watch what they were doing. The village consisted mostly of wooden huts and Shy Guys, with a Wiggler or two wandering around in the distance. There were tents closer to the river that served to house the various species. Some minions simply watched the boat, most likely waiting for another ship, while others left the boat behind and headed into the village, small sacks either slung over their shoulders or resting on their heads if they didn't have arms. Off in the distance, she saw a strange airship taking off. It had a large green palm tree on the front of it. Or perhaps it was a pineapple?

She wasn't able to examine it further, as Kenji suddenly broke off and approached one of the new arrivals. They exchanged a fist bump, and the newer minion swung his arm around her bodyguard.

"Bro! Brother! How's the heat been treating ya?!"

"Could be better."

"Aw don't be such a sour lemon. Just because you got sand in your shell doesn't mean it wasn't fun. You weren't stuck in poison humidity."

"No, but I AM stuck with-"

"Hello!"

"…her."

The companion, which she quickly identified as a Boomerang Bro, spun around at her voice. He seemed surprised, but certainly not hostile. His eyes were a deep blue, and though he resembled any ordinary Boomerang Bro, he seemed to have his helmet pulled down lower on his face than what she had normally seen in her encyclopedias.

"…hey!"

Kenji turned to her with a slight look of reserve. "This is my twin brother, Jet. Jet, Pinky here is under my charge."

"That's not my-"

"Nice to meet ya! Hopefully my brother's not giving you any trouble." His laugh was a bit of a relief. It was nice to know that not all of the minions were cold like Kenji.

 _Maybe he should've been an Ice Bro instead…_

"No, of course not!" She dipped her head with a smile, and pulled out an envelope from her bag. "Actually, if it doesn't trouble you, would you happen to know where I may be able to find a post office? I simply wish to send a letter to my grandfather back home." The Fire Bro hadn't bothered to tell her about its location, but he'd been quick to snatch the letter from her and read it over before even acknowledging her request.

"Yeah, sure, no problem. In fact, I can do you one better." He turned to the lines of minions that were boarding the ship. "Yo! Blurr!"

A red Koopa Paratroopa started on hearing his name and turned to look over at Jet from the shore below. "What's up?"

"Got a mail call for ya!" he grinned, holding up the white envelope.

The paratroopa rolled his eyes and fluttered over, not even bothering to hide his annoyance as he landed on the top of the boat's gunwale, sitting down so that he was closer to eye level. Why he – or any of the winged enemies, for that matter – hadn't just flown onto the boat and skipped the line was beyond her. "Very funny, Jet. Like you have anyone to send a letter to, anyway."

"Hey, not me, man. Her." Blurr raised an eyebrow on seeing the pink Bumpty, and finally took the letter from Jet's outstretched hand.

"Never expected to see a Bumpty on the ship… where to?"

"Shiverville… if it's not too much trouble, of course!"

He visibly cringed. Even imagining the distance made his wings droop. "Seriously? That far? Not fair, not fair."

"Hey, it's your job, Blurr. Besides," Jet clapped a hand onto the disgruntled Paratroopa's shoulder. Despite his easygoing tone, she could tell that his grin wasn't exactly the friendliest, his jaw clenching as he spoke to his fellow minion. "Consider this payback for putting my Boomerang in that tree and making me look like an idiot when I tried to get it."

"…Fine, fine."

With a flap of his wings, Blurr took off into the sky, with only one glance back. "If my wings freeze, you owe me big! BIG!"

"You'll be fine, ya big baby! You could use the exercise!"

"Shut it! I'm at my goal weight!"

As the paratroopa soared into the air and through the trees, Kenji turned back to his brother with a flicker of concern crossing his face. "What about you? They just passed through yesterday, right?"

"Yeah they did – don't worry about me, I'm good." Jet turned away and started to head towards the front of the ship, only to be stopped when Kenji put a hand on his shoulder.

"…Jet. Don't you dare hide it. Tell me what happened."

"…" His stiffening posture was all the Fire Bro needed to whip his brother around and glare into his eyes. Jet looked uncomfortable, but slowly reached up and pulled off his helmet. Not completely, mind you, but just enough for them to see some bandages wrapped around his forehead. "I was assigned to Bramball Woods, and… well… when they showed up, one of the Mechakoopas that dropped down and landed near me kinda… malfunctioned and exploded when they jumped on it. I just got hit in the head with one of the pieces." He rapped on his helmet before pulling it back down, though allowing it to rest higher than when she had first seen him, leaving a bit of bandage exposed. "Good thing I had this, otherwise I'd probably be a lot worse off."

 _Ah, so his helmet was lower on purpose to cover his injury… interesting. I wonder if others typically hide their injuries if they're minor enough…_

"And the bros?"

"They ignored me, though I managed to clip one with my Boomerang. Maybe not the smartest idea, but they weren't able to jump on it, so I didn't lose it."

"Well… so long as you're okay. Go get some rest."

This received an eyeroll. "Yeah, sure thing, 'mom'."

Jet strolled off, with Paloma watching him curiously from the edge of the ship. Without thinking, she began to murmur to herself.

"…does he normally walk like that?"

Kenji's green eyes snapped to her with an intensity that she hadn't expected, and her grip on the railing stiffened as she began to worry that she had offended her bodyguard with a sensitive subject.

"…Walk like what?!"

"A-ah, I'm sorry…" She dipped her head in apology. "It's just… it looked like his right foot was turned in as he walked. I didn't mean to offend you if it's normal for him."

"…no. It's not normal for him." Kenji ran a hand over his face as he muttered to himself. "Jet, come on, we talked about this…"

"Was I… not supposed to say anything?"

"Well he certainly wouldn't have," he sighed, "He probably sprained it jumping down from a platform again... he's gonna break something one of these days."

She smiled reassuringly. "At least he has you to look out for him!"

Instead of a retort or a sigh of annoyance, as she had come to expect from him, Kenji's face almost appeared… sad, for a brief moment.

"…Hopefully you're right." And off he went, presumably to chew out his twin for hiding another injury.

The remark left a nervous pit in her stomach. She turned to question Corey about it, only to find that the little bandit had disappeared, leaving her alone. It caught her off guard, as he normally hovered close to her for as long as he could, but perhaps he'd had to disembark and didn't want to mention it.

 _No, yesterday he was talking about how eager he was to get back to the castle… I hope everything's ok._

As she stood there, lost in her thoughts, she didn't see the odd looks she was getting from the few minions that were still boarding, nor did she hear the curious whispers as the newcomers questioned some of the desert minions about her. It was to be expected, really. After all, who would think a Bumpty would end up on one of Bowser's ships, so far from any ice and snow?

The boat's horn sounded, and they began to continue down the river, the sounds of splashing water and rustling leaves going unnoticed by the concerned female. She stayed there for hours, mulling the strange events over in her mind, looking out at the jungle before her but not really taking it in. One or two of the newcomers attempted to speak to her, but their voices went ignored. Unintentionally, of course.

Her concentration was finally broken by the large purple blob with eyes jumping up to look at her.

She let out a shriek, landing on her tail and back-pedaling as gravity took control of the Poison Bubble and it dropped back down into the river.

There were a few sniggers from some of the minions, and with a face flushing red she quickly stood up to dust herself off and return to her perch.

 _Well that was embarrassing,_ she winced, tugging at the flower on her head self-consciously.

She then noticed just how dark it was becoming, and how few minions actually remained on deck. Her stomach growled unceremoniously and reality began to set in. How long had she been in thought?

"Hey! Pinky!"

 _That's not my name…_

She glanced up to see a Goomba waddling towards her, a pair of sunglasses perched above his eyes.

"Kenji wanted me to tell you that you'd better hurry up and get some food if you don't want to go to bed hungry." He gained a sympathetic look. "Trust me, I've been in that boat before, and it is NOT cool."

"O-oh, thank you!" Her inquisitive look was all she needed to get him to flash a grin.

"Name's Kyumi! Nice to meet you!" He let out a laugh. "And don't worry so much about heading to Darkland, okay? Kenji says you've been anxious all week!"

Had it only been a week since her journey to Darkland began? It felt so much longer than that… she could only hope he was right. He seemed kind enough.

"He also said you get stuck in your head, so I'm glad I didn't have to be the one to get you out!"

"Well…" She rubbed the back of her head sheepishly, following the young Goomba over to the galley. "He's not wrong… I do tend to ramble a little bit, even in my head! I mean, I don't intend for it to happen, but sometimes I just get on a tangent and I can't stop myself especially if I'm thinking deeply about a subject that's been bugging me like this one time I got up in the morning to study something about volcanic eruptions and before I knew it it was already dark outside and my grandfather had tried to interrupt me but I hadn't even noticed him for the whole day and I ended up missing all three meals but I learned some really interesting stuff like how they affect the weather and now I'm wondering how many volcanoes are in Darkland there must be a lot if there's as much lava as I've read about but there could just be one giant volcano but that'd probably be too dangerous to live around I mean only Dragon-Koopas and a few other creatures are immune to lava and that's only a recent discovery too since younger ones tend to not be as impervious to it like adults are and I highly doubt Bowser would build a castle around something that could destroy everything he cared about I mean even for someone as dangerous as him that doesn't make sense if he has eight kids he must care for them at least I hope he does and on that note I wonder how everyone's going to treat me I mean you and Corey and Jet are all nice but not everyone can be as nice as you if you think about it since you have quite a reputation of being mean because if you were nice why would the Mario brothers even attack you unless they're actually villains which doesn't make any sense to me but maybe they're villains to you so I hope bringing that up doesn't offend you or-"

"Okay! Okay! I get it!" Kyumi staggered a bit, shaking his head to clear it. "Yeesh, I didn't believe them when they said Morton wanted you to tag along… Now I know why…"

"…sorry?"

"Let's… let's just go get some grub."


	4. Chapter 4

As much as she expected otherwise, the days passed by uneventfully. The poisonous waters eventually began to fade as they reached the edges of the swamp. She spent her time writing away in her journal and posing questions to some of the friendlier minions on the boat about Darkland and what she could expect regarding customs, habits, schedules, and the like.

The air was beginning to clear; the foul toxins becoming fainter as they continued on. She was relieved by the change – the atmosphere made her feel sluggish and slow, and she worried about the long term consequences. She had asked some of the minions about possible negative side effects, but they had simply stared at her in confusion or outright laughed at the suggestion. She couldn't help being paranoid – this was her first time being so far from home! What if she contacted some horrible disease and didn't know about the side effects? What if she was bitten by something venomous? What if–

A flash of light blue caught her attention, and she looked up to see two Bros. chatting next to the railing. The red one was obviously Kenji, though he seemed much more relaxed than what she was used to, but the other was light blue, and she didn't recognize him at first.

Her eyes never left the light blue Bro as she approached the pair. He sounded like Jet, and he looked like Jet, but the colours… were they really all that similar?

"Hey! Pinky!"

No, that was most certainly Jet's voice. Then why did he look so different?

Kenji's eyes hardened on seeing her, and he re-adopted his standoffish demeanour, while Jet grinned widely at her approach.

"We're gonna hit the Rocky Mountains in a few hours, and then it's a two day flight straight to Darkland! Are you excited?"

Her mind drifted to the warp whistle that was tucked away in her bag. "I… I guess. It'll definitely be… different."

"Oh, for you, sure! You're gonna love Darkland, it's great!"

She seriously doubted that, but she refused to let her quest for knowledge be restricted by potentially hostile territory. As long as they were willing to receive her, of course…

Kenji silently dismissed himself and wandered off to speak to a pair of Lakitu that were poring over a map. Taking advantage of the sudden opportunity, she stared at the railing, unable to look the Bro in the eye.

"Ah… Jet? May I ask you something?"

"Shoot!"

"Well, um…" She fidgeted a bit, wringing her flippers together. She hoped she didn't offend him by her question, but if she didn't ask, it would bother her for days. And the likelihood of her getting an answer from Kenji was… less than stellar, to put it lightly. "If… if you don't mind my asking, why… why is your colouring different?"

"Oh!" His eyes lit up, and his face split into a grin. "That all?"

She nodded. Well, at least he didn't seem insulted by her inquiry, though he did glance around a bit before leaning towards her, voice hushed.

"Between you and me, I'm actually an Ice Bro."

"Really?"

"Born and raised!" He shrugged, leaning against the side of the boat, amused at the awe in her face. "Never could use my skills very well though. Was always better with a boomerang, so I switched. Unfortunately, since I'm not a born Boomerang Bro, I don't have an endless supply like the rest of them do." Jet removed his aforementioned boomerang from his shell and began to idly toss it up and down. "So I gotta keep this baby safe!"

"So then why do you change your colouring?"

"Just gotta keep up the appearances on the field!" He grinned. "Helps identify me from a distance – since I can't really use any ice attacks, changing my colour to dark blue helps the others realize what my specialty is, especially since it's hard to see who's who in a thick jungle. Or if they don't know me personally, they won't think I'm ice-focused. Stops some real chaos from happening."

"Oh, I see… that's very creative!" She glanced around at the various minions. "So, do others change their appearances to match their specialties as well?"

"You got it!" He gestured to a pair of Paragoombas. "Plenty of those aren't actually born and raised Paragoombas. Same with Paratroopas. They use P-wings to help themselves fly, which is why most of 'em lose their wings so easily." Jet then shrugged indifferently. "Of course, some of us are kind of stuck with what we've got, but eh. We're adaptable. Ice Bros are more common than Boomerang bros so I'm not usually missed."

"Fascinating!" Her eyes were sparkling with excitement on the newly acquired knowledge. She'd never read of something so tactical. And it made sense – if the wings were truly ingrained, they'd be much harder to lose. So then it was entirely possible that the P-Wing powerups that Mario used were leftovers from former Paragoombas and Paratroopas – Parabuzzies must be an exception, since they didn't tend to lose their wings on contact… though there could possibly be exceptions to that rule, as well. And where did the Goombas and Koopas acquire these wings? Were they manufactured? Replicated? If they _were_ artificial, they obviously weren't as powerful as the real thing… how did one identify natural born Paragoombas and Paratroopas? Did they require Para-parents? Did their wings regrow if they were lost? That sounded painful if that were the case… it _would_ make harvesting wings possible, though she wondered if there were ethical complications with such a procedure, especially if the wings were delicate. Were the whole things sensitive, or were they like hair, only feeling pain at the base? Could wings cramp if one flew for too long? How did blue shells get their wings? She'd never heard of a spiked blue shelled Koopa Troopa – were the wings transplanted onto spiky shells? Did they –

"-KY! JET TO PINKY! COME IN!"

"Ah!" She jumped back, startled from her thoughts.

"Finally!" The bro – what would be the proper title, now? Ice? Or Boomerang? Boomerice? Well, he became a boomerang bro, so that was most likely the acceptable term… _Focus!_ "I've been trying to get your attention for, like, the past ten minutes! You were really zoning out!"

"O-oh, I'm so so sorry!" She felt her face begin to heat up. "I-I was just wondering how the whole concept of wings functioned if they weren't natural!"

"Hey, there'll be plenty of time to read up on all that stuff once we get to the castle!" He grinned. "After your orientation, you'll be set to dive into as many books as you want!"

"Yes, that's what I… wait. Orientation?"

"Well yeah!" Jet laughed at the panicked look on her face. "Gotta make sure you aren't a spy or anything!"

Well, that was fair, but… what about the warp whistle? Would they take that away from her? She really hoped not, but it would be foolish to let her keep something like that, especially if her primary objective was knowledge.

"Eh, don't worry. I'm sure Prince Morton will put in a good word for ya!"

The concept of Darklanders doing anything remotely 'good' felt incredibly unlikely, but she wisely chose to keep her mouth shut.

Jet's eyes suddenly shifted to something behind her, and she turned to see Corey nervously approaching her. She hadn't seen him around for the past few days, so it was a bit relieving to see that he was alright.

"Ah, Corey! How have you been?"

"Oh, uh… f-fine…" He definitely didn't seem fine. "H-how are you?"

"I'm good, but…" She tilted her head, giving him a kind, worried smile. "…are you alright? You seem on edge."

Corey's eyes shifted to Jet for a moment, and he grinned nervously. "A-ah, fine! Yeah, no, I'm good! Great, even!"

"COREY!"

The little blue bandit visibly jolted at his name being called, and he stood frozen as the bumpty glanced around his shoulder curiously. A Big Koopa Troopa strolled up to them with purpose, casually chatting with a Giant Goomba and a Stalking Piranha Plant. She recognized them from when they had come onto the boat at Veneno Village. He grinned when he stopped in front of the trio, with Corey refusing to turn around, towering over the group and folding his arms over his plastron.

"Long time no see, little bandit!"

The Big Koopa Troopa leaned forward, with a smug, condescended look on his face. His beak alone was larger than Corey's entire body.

"…I hope you've been busy collecting my payment. I don't help others for free, you know."

Corey's voice was shaking, hardly above a whisper. "I-It… It's hard to get coins when the Brothers pass by…"

That's when the Koopa plucked the bandit into the air by the edge of his garments, letting him dangle like a fish out of water.

"And what's stopping you from just _taking what you want_? You're a _bandit_. It's what you _do_."

"I-It's… it's not right…"

Instantly the trio laughed loudly at that. She heard Corey muttering something about 'stupid bullies' under his breath with a cracking voice, though the jungle trio didn't seem to hear him.

"And when have we _ever_ been worried about what's _right_? How they managed to let a wimp like you into the Troop is a mystery we'll never be able to solve, right boys?"

The Koopa's hand went from the back of his collar to around his neck, and he grinned darkly at the young bandit.

"I expect you to have every last coin by the end of the day, Bandit Boy. I don't care what it takes. Got it?"

"N-No, it-it's not-" He was cut off by the Koopa's hand getting tighter.

" _GOT IT?_ "

Corey struggled against the hand, and the pink bumpty puffed out her cheeks in indignation. How _dare_ they pick on him, just because he was smaller?! She wanted to kick his red shell right off the boat, but she knew that she didn't have the strength or the courage to do so.

The Big Koopa frowned at the lack of response. "Or maybe we'll just have to drop you off early." He held his hand over the railing, the young bandit kicking out at the sight of the slightly-less-toxic-but-still-highly-dangerous water below.

Horrified, she looked back to Jet, who was too surprised by the situation to be of much help.

They were going to throw him off the boat, and he had been nothing but kind this whole time!

"HEY!"

A few minions glanced over at her shout, but didn't bother interfering. Slowly his dark eyes turned to glare at her.

"Leave him alone! He doesn't owe you anything! You're just a bunch of bullies who are picking on him because he's smaller!"

Jet went from startled to alarmed, whispering for her to shut up.

Unfortunately, that wasn't exactly her strong suit.

"I can't believe you'd just go around and pick on others just because you're bigger than them! You're on the same team – at the very least you could show a little bit of decency! Corey's one of the nicest bandits I've ever met and if he wants to do the right thing you should respect that instead of pressuring him to do something he doesn't want to do and if you're going to help someone just to try and get something out of it you shouldn't even help at all that's incredibly selfish and not to mention nobody is going to like you they'll all just avoid you and then you'll be without friends and without anyone to help _you_ if you ever need it! Especially if you get attacked or need medical assistance! You'll just shove everyone away instead of being a good friend and then you'll be in real trouble if something goes wrong especially in a place as dangerous as this! I refuse to just stand around while you pick on Corey he's a really nice guy if you get to know him and he'd probably be more than willing to help you out if you weren't such a jerk so you had better stop picking on him and anyone else just because you're bigger and you think you can get away with such horrible behaviour it's absolutely disgusting and–"

During her rant, the Koopa had put Corey down – the bandit rubbed his neck in wide-eyed relief – and went to stand in front of her. She was only cut off when she careened straight into him.

"Ack!"

By now, everyone on deck was staring at her, wide-eyed and open-mouthed. Even the Giant Goomba and the Stalking Piranha Plant.

The Koopa leaned forward, gritting his teeth.

"And what are _you_ gonna do about it, girlie?"

Once again, she puffed up her cheeks in annoyance. She was very scared, but her concern for her friend overpowered that. Unfortunately, concern wouldn't do anything against a Koopa Troopa that was twenty times her size. So, hoping to, at the very least, distract him long enough for Corey to make a break for it, she opened her mouth to tell him off.

But, instead of words, a blast of icy water shot out and smashed right into the Koopa's angry eyes.

He let out a howl, clutching his face, and she staggered back in surprise as everyone around turned to watch what was going on, confusion and fascination on their faces. She'd never been able to do anything like that before… not that she knew of. What was that?

He snarled fiercely, eyes red from the blast of water, and she realized that she may have just made a grave mistake. Not that she knew how she had even done that in the first place…

"Why you little–"

A massive fireball smashed into his hand as he attempted to grab her, and he hissed from the pain.

" _That's ENOUGH_."

The two of them turned to look at Kenji, who was glaring at the Koopa with a burning anger, a second fireball crackling in his left hand.

"She's under _my_ protection via _his_ orders. So unless you want to deal with explaining to _him_ why she's injured or MIA, _you had better back off_."

The two yellow and red-coloured minions stared each other down, before the Big Koopa reluctantly relented, stepping back to his cohorts and rubbing his stinging eyes.

"Ugh… whatever. Let's go, guys."

No one said anything until the three of them vanished below deck. Kenji let out an annoyed sigh as the rest of the minions resumed whatever it was they had been doing.

"That was real stupid, Pinky," he muttered, moving up to stand beside her.

"I-I'm sorry, I… I don't know what came over me…" Her flippers started to shake as the adrenaline faded. Jet helped Corey to his feet, as he was shaking himself after nearly being dropped off the boat.

"You said you couldn't fight."

"I didn't know I was able to…" She shook the strange occurrence from her mind and focused her attention on the bandit. "Are you okay, Corey?"

"Y-Yeah… I think so, just… a little shaken up." The bandit shook his head and gave her a grateful, strained smile. "Th-thanks."

"Don't worry about it. I'm always willing to help a friend!" She smiled tiredly in return. "Maybe we should take it easy for the rest of the day, though… that was a bit too much excitement for me…"

Corey stared at her.

"What?"

"Y-you really mean that, don't you? That… that we're friends?"

"Of course! Why wouldn't I?"

Lighting up with amazement, he smiled larger than she'd seen anyone smile on her entire journey thus far, and shot forward and gave her a big hug, which she returned after getting over her initial surprise.

The twins watched, Jet amused and Kenji simply done with this entire day.

"She's a weird one, but I think she's gonna fit in just fine!"

Kenji glanced over at his twin, and reluctantly nodded his agreement.

"Yeah… I still don't trust her, but… I think you're actually right."

That earned Kenji a punch in the arm from his brother. "Eh, you don't trust anyone."

"Shut it."

 **XXXXXXXX**

 **I actually have a picture of an alternate version of Jet on my DeviantArt page - this is the reason why he's light blue instead of dark blue!**


	5. Chapter 5

After that harrowing incident, she and Corey became nearly inseparable. Word got around quickly about how the strange Bumpty had stood up to the Big Koopa Troopa, and she was starting to get looks of respect instead of disdain and suspicion. Of course, her actions couldn't negate that completely, but it was nice to get some acceptance, even from this intimidating bunch. It made the journey just a tiny bit easier.

The next few hours were spent with her asking question after question about the various worlds and their features. Jet and Corey patiently answered her barrage of inquiries as best they could, with Kenji always standing a bit of a ways away from the chattering trio. She caught sight of Kyumi a few times, but the Goomba never bothered to approach the group.

"You know…" Jet spoke up suddenly, cutting off her rambling. She had been explaining to Corey about some of the intricacies of Shiver Mountain's geography, and she was just going into detail about a frozen lake she'd visited, which prompted Jet's unexpected interruption. He waited for a few seconds, pondering, as the two of them turned to look at him with curious expressions.

"Princess Wendy's normally the one who trains the water-based minions. Since you don't know what you can do, maybe she could help you out."

The bumpty went silent for a few moments, before carefully voicing her response. "It's… I appreciate the suggestion, Jet, but… I'm going to Darklands to learn, not to train."

Jet shrugged, unbothered by the lack of enthusiasm at his proposal. "Hey, wouldn't do you any harm. It could come in handy if there's ever an attack on the castle."

"I… I guess so…"

"If you don't want to train, you don't have to!" Corey looked to her, eyes filled with encouragement. "I-I mean they might expect you to, but you should get a pass since you're not part of the Troop!"

"It's not a bad idea." Kenji reluctantly glanced over at them, arms folded tightly against his chest. "Blinding a Big Koopa Troopa like that? She _could_ be useful."

She sweatdropped a bit. "Um, guys, I don't think–"

Jet cut her off again. "That's what I'm thinking. We hardly have anyone who can use water attacks on land. Might give us an edge."

"I-I really don't–"

"Plus, it'd be more likely that she'd be allowed to stay."

"B-But I–"

"And we could train with her too!"

"I don't _want_ –"

"Don't get your hopes up. She'll have a lot of practice to do before she's on our level."

"I'm not–!"

"She could do it. She's pretty determined!"

"We'll get her set up at the castle and see how it goes first."

Her face drained of colour. What had she gotten herself into? She didn't want this… She just wanted to learn!

"If she's not comfortable with it, it's not fair to make her do it!"

They were taken aback by the insistence in Corey's tone – he had nearly shouted the comment, glaring at them with an unfamiliar look in his eyes. He maintained that expression for a few seconds before blinking it away, realizing just how out of character this was for him. Filled with embarrassment, he looked off to the side and rubbed his right arm self-consciously.

"Sorry… I-I just…" He let out a sigh. "…I would know."

The twins exchanged confused glances, while she looked at him with gratitude and compassion welling in her heart. It was obvious that most of the minions tended to avoid Corey – most likely because he was a bandit. Those that did bother to approach would've almost immediately recognized his rather blatant fearfulness; partially due to his young age – he was a bit younger than she was, apparently – and partially due to his timid, acquiescent nature. He must've been taken advantage of so much because of that, especially if minions were bold enough to bully and demand coins from him right in front of onlookers.

And if he was so surprised that she wanted to be his friend…

 _How alone was he, really?_

"Well, you're not going to be going through that anymore." She smiled up at him, determined to help. "We're going to make sure of that."

"I'm sorry, 'we'?"

She glared at Kenji, who was less than pleased. "Yes, _we_. We're all friends now, whether you like it or not. Friends need to stick together and watch each other's backs."

Jet gave an easygoing thumbs-up. "Sounds good to me."

Kenji snorted but said nothing.

Corey, meanwhile, was practically tearing up. "You guys… you're serious…?"

She pulled Corey into another hug, this time taking Jet along with her. "Of course! Friends to the end!"

"I could teach you guys how to play Boomerang Ball!" With a smirk, Jet glanced over at his twin. "C'mon, bro. You know you want to join in!"

"I would rather drown in poison."

Grinning mischievously, Jet waited until Kenji had turned his shell to them before grabbing it by the rim and pulling him into the group hug.

He was less than pleased. "JET!"

"You gotta relax, bro! We're all friends here!"

"I'm not your friend, now get off!"

"Pinky _could_ always use her water blast to freeze you in place if you try to leave."

"She can't do that."

"No, but she _can_ shoot you with water. Which fire is _weak_ to."

Kenji was visibly seething as he was dragged further into the group hug. Any nearby minions ignored the spectacle, fully used to the quartet's randomness by now.

"I hate all of you."

"No you don't."

 **XXXXXXXX**

"Here we are! The Rock Docks!"

Pulling her satchel close as various minions crowded the deck, she looked up in confusion. "Is that… the actual name of the harbour?" Seemed rather… uncreative, if she was being blunt.

Jet just grinned. "Eh, not really, but that's what we call it."

The ship bumped against one of the docks, forcing it to a halt. The moment the plank was settled by two Green Paratroopas, the minions quickly began to disembark. The group decided to hang back for a bit to avoid the massive amount of foot traffic, and after a few minutes of waiting, they finally hopped onto the deck, legs a bit wobbly from the ground's unexpected steadiness.

"So we're heading for Port C. It's not too far from here. Stay close, and don't pick any fights." Kenji took the lead, easily maneuvering through the throngs of species as he guided the group towards their next destination.

The bumpty looked around curiously. There was so much hustle and bustle! The area seemed to be some kind of port town, with short, wooden houses lined up on either side of wide, cobble streets. Many of the buildings had signs hanging from them, indicating various services and amenities for the minions to use. The sky above them was a bright blue, with a few white clouds floating lazily, no breeze prompting them to move anytime soon. A strong sulfuric smell lingered about the air, with faint traces of fish and burning wood barely detectable behind it. Despite most others seeming to keep to themselves, the area was still noisy as ship workers called to one another and businesses advertised their wares. A few Goombas and Koopas stood still in the street they were walking down, handing out flyers, ads, and information pamphlets to passerby to update them on any new products, services, delays, or redirections. It was much more chaotic than the previous places she had visited, and she would've been absolutely overwhelmed by the apparent disorganization had she been here alone. As she looked around, she noticed that she wasn't really getting any looks, despite sticking out like a sore flipper. It was a bit of a relief, to be honest.

"Yo, Kenji." Jet's eyes were glued to a pamphlet he'd gotten from a nearby Goomba. "Apparently Port C got totaled."

They paused in the middle of the street, the rest of the passerby moving around them. "You've got to be kidding me." With a flourish, Kenji snatched the paper from his brother and stared at it, blue eyes blazing in annoyance.

She was a bit nervous about just standing in everyone's way, and she stepped a bit closer to Corey in an attempt to become less of an obstruction. Although… it didn't seem like anyone was too bothered by their sudden stop, the minions easily bypassing them without breaking their strides.

"Well… seems like we're going to have to start looking around. There's no information about a transfer." Kenji crumpled the pamphlet into a ball and expertly tossed it into a garbage can a few metres away. "Just perfect…"

"Where should we look first?" Corey glanced around, trying to spot someone who'd be able to give them directions.

"Your guess is as good as mine." Sighing slightly, Kenji ran a hand over his face. "Maybe we should head to Port C anyway. If there are workers around, they might be able to direct us."

"Nah, bro, you know how the Wrenches get when people interrupt their construction. We should try to find a terminal display. Those are _way_ more up to date than the pamphlets."

Kenji scowled. "The only reason _why_ they have the pamphlets is because the terminals are hard to come by, never mind finding one that actually works."

"Well we won't figure anything out if we just stand around. We could always ask somebody."

"Yeah, remember what happened the _last time_ you thought it was a good idea to ask someone for directions?"

"How was _I_ supposed to know he late for his transfer?"

"Because he _specifically told you_?! And then you went and knocked the guy over and sent papers flying everywhere! We had to waste _two hours_ finding everything because our captain refused to let us leave! I bet there are _still_ papers lying in the alleyways!"

"Hit someone with a boomerang _one time_ …"

"You did it _four times_ in _one day_!"

The bumpty was somewhat pleased that their argument wasn't creating a scene. Everyone seemed to be ignoring them, which was nice, but it'd be a lot easier if someone just came up and offered to help.

Conveniently enough, that's exactly what happened a few minutes later.

"You guys had better hurry up. The ships don't wait for anybody."

Four sets of eyes turned to see a familiar looking Goomba with sunglasses on his head.

"Kyumi!"

"Hey, Pinky!" He turned to Jet and Kenji, who simultaneously held out their fists towards him, their argument instantly dissipated. Kyumi grinned, jumping to bump the top of his head against each.

"Sup, bros?"

"Not much. Just looking for the transfer." Kenji jerked a thumb off to the right. "Was supposed to be by Port C, but apparently some stray Bullet Bills got loose and made a mess of the place. Do you know if Prince Morton's ship is around here?"

Kyumi shook his head. "He hasn't arrived yet. The plumbers have been taking longer than usual, so he's still at the fortress."

She was silently relieved. She'd been somewhat dreading their arrival, as it would mean coming face to face with one of the Koopalings. It seemed that her meeting was going to be postponed for a little bit longer.

Jet, meanwhile, groaned in disappointment. "You mean we gotta wait for him?"

"Not exactly. There's a small airship that's been taking its place. Left about two hours ago, according to some of the Shy Guys. So you'll probably have to spend the night." Kyumi glanced up at the sky. "It's almost sunset, anyway."

"Well, at least we didn't miss it this time," Jet mumbled. The young bumpty turned to Kyumi curiously.

"Ships don't fly at night?"

"Usually they do, Pinky, but we're kinda strapped for resources since the plumbers are around. They can't afford to send a ship whenever they want to right now." Kyumi suddenly noticed Corey and blinked in surprise. "You guys hang out with a bandit now?"

"Not by choice," Kenji grumbled, annoyance in his voice.

Corey's face fell at the blatant comment, causing the pink Bumpty to place a flipper on his shoulder in reassurance. "Be nice to him," she scolded, giving Kenji a look of disapproval, "Corey's very kind and helpful!"

"Ohhh, wait, I know you!" Kyumi's face gained an easygoing grin. "Bandit King's son, right? One of the youngest in the Troop!"

Three sets of eyes shot to Corey, who looked about ready to pass out.

"I-I… um… y-yeah… h-how did you…?"

"My sister heard about it on one of her gossip runs a few years back. She mentioned it to me, and it was so weird that it stuck. You guys almost never leave your tower."

"I-it was… it was easier, I… I wanted to go to Darkland."

Kenji seemed to hum at that, eyeing the young bandit with an unrecognizable gleam in his eyes. "Yeah, now I remember. You showed up a few months before the Shattered Crown incident."

Corey winced at the memory. "T-that's right… I-I didn't expect to be put on the spot so soon after showing up…"

"'Shattered Crown' incident?"

Jet waved a dismissive hand at her inquiry. "Some old hat got busted, and the bandits got put through the wringer since they were the only ones capable of getting to it. Nothing major. King didn't even like the thing anyway. Was more of a museum exhibit than anything."

"Ah, okay."

"Anyway, not important. What's important is that they're gonna start serving dinner soon!" Kyumi started hopping away, drooling at the thought of food. "They've got _tons_ of exotic stuff around here! C'mon, there's a dining hall not too far away!"

As they walked, Kenji moved a bit closer to the group, keeping his gaze straight ahead as he addressed the young Bandit.

"Didn't know you came from Bandit Tower. Not much is known about that place."

"U-um, y-yeah…" He seemed a bit taken aback by the fact that Kenji was willingly speaking to him all of a sudden. "D-Did they take something from you?"

"No." And just like that, he was moving away again, leaving Corey even more confused than before.

"What was that about?" The shorter pair turned to look at Jet, who seemed to have a look of realization on his face.

"…Can't tell you, Pinky. Not my place. But…" He gave Corey a reassuring grin. "Let's just say I think you're officially 'in' now."

"R-Really?!" Corey's eyes were filled with hopefulness. "I-I can really be friends with you guys?"

"Might take Kenji a little bit to fully warm up to you, but eh. I don't think there'll be a problem."

"Th-thank you so much! I-It's… It's great to finally have some friends!"

As the two blue minions started to chat away, Corey radiating happiness, the bumpty felt her heart warm up at the sight of the little bandit's smiling face. Maybe moving to Darkland wasn't going to be so bad after all. With friends like these by her side, she had a feeling that she was going to be okay.


End file.
